Danielle: Oklahoma to see big changes in weather this weekend

There's one big variable that plays a role in our weather, and it is something we call the jet stream.

The jet stream is a ribbon of air at about 30,000 feet that flows west to east and influences weather across the country.

There are two branches of the jet stream: the polar jet and the subtropical jet. The latter is the southern branch.

The image above shows the current weather pattern. Cold air is "trapped" well north of here. Through today and tomorrow, the pattern begins to break down and the polar jet will nose-dive into the Central U.S.

A strong cold front will move into Oklahoma late Saturday and bring a chill to the air. Ahead of the cold front, warm and windy weather will prevail, with southwest winds gusting as high as 40 mph Friday.

Once the front moves in, prepare for not only the cold, but a slight chance of wintry mix of rain and snow late Saturday into early Sunday morning. Highs on Sunday should only be in the 30s. Think the 30s are cold? International Falls, Minn. will see highs near three degrees Sunday. But then again, that's the "Ice box of the nation" right?!

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